Coordinating With Heart
by PledgeMultiSurface
Summary: After years of traveling, aspiring Pokemon Master Ash Ketchum finally wins an official Pokemon League Conference and heads home to prepare for the Kalos Elite Four. However, Serena drops a bomb on him right before they part ways and it throws him for a loop. Stuck between training, reuniting with old friends, and his crippling density, can he sort himself out before the Elite Four?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey, readers! Welcome to my first fanfic. I've never really written anything like this before and I'm still trying to find my style, but I am enjoying writing it so far and I hope you guys enjoy it, too! A couple things before we start though. For the first several chapters the fic could stand as K+ or maybe T, but there's a 90% chance that it will bump up to M as it progresses (read: slight lemon), so be prepared for that. I don't have a set update schedule since my own life schedule is a little crazy, but I will do my best to update at least once a week. This chapter is a little short, but they will get longer.

Aaaand that's all. Hope you guys like it!

* * *

Seventeen year old Ash Ketchum idly stared at the clouds from his window seat, the weightless puffs of vapor seemingly inviting him to sleep within their comfy folds as they lazily drifted by. He couldn't sleep now however. So much had happened in so little time that his brain hadn't the time to process even the smallest fraction of it so far.

The aspiring Pokemon Master started his journey through Kalos a little over a year ago. He met great new friends in Bonnie and Clemont, formed strong bonds with new Pokemon, and even rediscovered someone from his past. Serena. Together they along with their friends worked hard and pursued their dreams. In the end Serena accomplished her dream and Ash was one step closer to his. She had become Kalos Queen and he, winner of the Lumiose Conference.

If that wasn't enough excitement, an evil organization, self dubbed Team Flare unveiled their master plan to destroy the world and recreate it in their image shortly after the Conference. What followed was a two month long engagement between the people of Kalos and Team Flare's seemingly infinite resources and power. Thankfully the mythical Pokemon Zygarde came to help in the last moments of the fighting and put an end to Team Flare. Zygarde. Squishy. That cute little green thing that Bonnie was carting around in her bag was actually a Mythical with unprecedented power. Who knew? Ash sure didn't.

No doubt it had been a wild ride and now, not one week after it had all ended, Ash was on a plane back to Kanto. Honestly though? His thoughts weren't even focused on the Conference he had won after seven years of training and traveling, nor was it on the life threatening battles afterwards. No. His mind was transfixed on that kiss. That damned kiss in the airport. He couldn't stop thinking about it. He didn't want to stop thinking about it.

Flashback, hours ago.

 _Ash, Pikachu, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie reluctantly stepped into the airport terminal. No one was ready for this goodbye. They had all become best friends in their time together in Kalos, but they all had their own paths in life and their journeys lead them in different directions._

 _With encouragement from former Kalos Queen, Palermo, Serena managed to convince the Kalos Performer's Association to let her travel to Hoenn. While there, she was planning to explore the idea of bringing Pokemon Showcases to the region and to try her hand at coordinating since it seemed similar to Showcases. Considering Serena's steep ascent into the Kalos crown and being only seventeen years old, Palermo had told her that she had little to teach her and suggested that she explore what else the world of Pokemon had to offer._

 _Clemont and Bonnie, now eighteen and fourteen respectively, were planning on turning the Lumiose City Gym into a tag gym with two leaders. The young blonde had proven herself to excel at battling during the Kalos Crisis and her dad convinced her that she would do quite well as a gym leader. At least until she got bored of course. She was always a determined and free spirit that went wherever her fancies took her. Clemont himself was glad for the idea since only having half of the gym leader responsibilities would allow him to spend more time on his inventions._

 _Ash himself was gearing up to challenge the Kalos Elite Four and eventually, Diantha herself. Although he was no slouch, he knew that they were all extremely powerful trainers and he needed to go back to Kanto to train with all of his Pokemon. Besides, if he were to finally realize his dream the victory would belong to all of them and they needed to be by his side when it finally happened._

 _The Lumiose City Airport was quite huge. The entrance they had just walked through was actually on the third floor and there were five more floors above and below their own. Ash hadn't seen this part of it on his arrival but he didn't really care much for the sight since he knew what was coming soon._

 _The group silently trudged to a nearby display to see where the two departures would have to go. As the words on the screen became legible to him Ash let out a disappointed sigh. Serena had to go down a floor for her flight to Hoenn while he had to go up._

 _The honey blonde in question gave him a half reassuring smile, but it wasn't working. Ash hated goodbyes. They made their way to the escalator still silent and stopped at the landing._

" _Well I guess this is me," the seventeen year old girl broke the silence while turning around to her friends._

" _I guess so. Please call us, okay?!" Bonnie pleaded as she stepped in to hug the taller girl's waist._

" _You know I will! Every week!" She replied reciprocating the hug. She was sure that she was squeezing the girl so hard that she was cutting off her air, but Bonnie didn't seem to mind. "Clemont, take care of her or you'll be hearing from me!"_

" _Hey that's my line," he said with a smile, moving in to join the embrace._

" _And maybe let her try to find you a wife." She added in with a wink._

" _Okay I'm not sure about that."_

" _I'm going to miss you guys."_

" _But we'll see each other again!" Bonnie chimed back in._

" _Pika Pika!" Squeaked a little electric mouse as he came from seemingly nowhere and scurried up Clemont's back to nuzzle the three goodbye. The mood had sufficiently lightened and they found themselves giggling and laughing with the yellow mouse._

 _Ash had been watching the warm exchange between friends and cracked a smile himself. He was going to miss them, but they were always going to be a part of his life._

 _As the three humans and one Pokemon broke their embrace Ash just looked at Serena expectantly, arms outstretched ready to receive a hug._

" _Oh the Lumiose Conference Champ thinks he's special enough to get his own hug, huh?" The honey blonde teased._

" _It just looked a little crowded is all," he said with a knowing smirk. Serena had started becoming the touchy feely type as they neared the end of their travels together. Especially when it came to him. Not that he minded it._

 _Serena just sighed and moved closer to give Ash his hug. "Goodbye, Ash. Thank you for inviting me to come with you on your Kalos journey," she said as she wrapped her arms around his back and squeezed him. She then promptly pulled her arms away and with a quick spin got on the escalator._

 _Bonnie and Clemont simply eyed the scene confusedly. They both knew how Serena felt about Ash and that goodbye certainly lacked the big confession or streaming tears that they were expecting._

 _Ash was taken slightly aback by the terse hug, but quickly shrugged it off and simply waved goodbye, Clemont and Bonnie joined him, still confused by what they just witnessed. Or didn't witness._

 _Serena, who was waving back while looking over her shoulder suddenly spoke up about a third of the way down, "Oh! I forgot something." She quickly did a one-eighty and briskly ran up the escalator._

 _Ash watched curiously as the performer scrambled up the opposite direction of where the steps were moving. As she hit the landing she quickly lunged at him. Wrapping her slender hands around his neck, she pulled him down and crashed her lips into his. Ash didn't know what hit him._

 _With her lips still pressed against him, his mind was running rampant trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. With his brain completely on the fritz his body took over and did the only thing it could do in this situation, his jaw dropped from shock._

 _Realizing her opening, literally, she went for broke and swiftly slipped her tongue into his mouth, exploring every inch as if it were the new region she was supposed to be going to at the moment. A tingling sensation had overtaken her body and she knew she was as red as a tamato berry and she felt like she would soon overheat, but she didn't care. She'd dreamed of this moment ever since she saw the stupid boy in front of her save Professor Sycamore's Garchomp on top of Prism Tower._

 _Several seconds later she finally broke the kiss. Still blushing furiously, she stepped backwards onto the escalator with her hands behind her back, slowly leaving an equally flushed Clemont, Bonnie, and Pikachu who had bore witness to her reckless stunt. Ash himself was still standing there, mouth agape and eyes unblinking. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?_

 _A few tense seconds later she let out a sigh as Ash's brain seemed to start working again and he was waving to her, a small smile on his face. This prompted Clemont and Bonnie to snap out of it as well and begin their own final farewells. Clemont was waving furiously, probably still a little flustered by what he saw, while Bonnie was grinning from ear to ear flashing her a thumbs up from behind Ash. The little electric type next to her was still out of it however, having witnessed his supremely dense trainer's first kiss and boy was it a steamy one._

" _Bye guys! Remember to stay in touch!" Serena yelled as she disappeared into a mass of people._

"Ugh," Ash groaned as he leaned his head forward into his hands. 'I was an idiot,' he thought. 'She kissed me. She actually kissed me and all I did was stand there like a dunce. I can't believe she likes me as more than a friend. That's what the kiss meant, right? Right? Ugh, I wish I didn't space out every time Brock went on about girls. He sure could talk a lot about them though. Maybe I should give him a call and ask him about it. Maybe I should call her. No, I wouldn't know what to say. I'd just make it more awkward than it already is. Does she really like me? Probably not anymore after that horrible kiss, I didn't even move a single inch. Do I even like her? I mean I guess I did enjoy th-'

"Pikapi?" The concerned tone of his ever present best friend broke Ash out of his reverie. The small Pokemon was curled up in the seat next to him, head slightly lifted up as if he had just woken up. The grinding sound of the gears in Ash's head probably woke him.

"I'm alright, buddy. Just have a lot to think about."

Knowing what his trainer was thinking about but not having the slightest clue about human mating, Pikachu just slowly nodded and laid his head back to rest with a soft "Pi."

"Ladies and Gentlemen we will be beginning our descent to Viridian City Airport please fasten your seatbelts, we will be arriving shortly and as always, thank you for flying Pidgeot Airways." Came the Captain's voice from the intercom.

Having momentarily forgotten about his recent mental struggle, Ash excitedly turned to Pikachu, a new light in his eyes. "Are you ready to see home again Pikachu?" He said as the plane banked and made its way down towards the airport.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Well then… I'm publishing chapter 2 with mixed emotions and this will probably be a long A/N (sorry!). I'm glad to be able to bring you guys a second chapter, but I'm also ashamed of my unannounced 4 month hiatus. Life got a little crazy for me after releasing my first chapter and I haven't really had much time to myself, much less for my hobbies, but those are just excuses. I am ineffably sorry to all of those that have taken an interest in this fic and were expecting me to be a decent human being and update on a regular basis, but rest assured it is not dead and I hope to do better in the future.

At this point I'd like to quickly address a few of the reviews and hopefully get to the story quickly!

LuigiTSG and St. Elmo's Fire - Thank you both for your critiques on my writing! It's definitely appreciated and I will be considering your reviews as I write more of this fic. Sadly, I wrote a lot of chapters 2 and 3 before I got to your reviews, so you'll have to deal with more of my writing deficits for a little while longer. Actually, anyone reading will be dealing with them for forever. Hah!

stevexclax - I know that a lot of people choose the fics they read based on their character pairings, but sometimes it just spoils the fun when you know it's going to end up the way you want. I won't publicly reveal who Ash will end up with (if he ends up with anyone at all), but I will say that there will be both AdvanceShipping and Amourshipping moments until the romance arc finishes. If you REALLY need to know feel free to shoot me a pm or dm or whatever people call them on this site, and if a LOT of people start asking about this, then it will probably end up on an A/N with big SPOILER WARNINGS all over it.

Well that was much longer than I would like, but without (too much further) ado, here is the second chapter! Hope you guys continue to enjoy it!

* * *

Serena stepped out of the jetway and into the Petalburg City airport. Although it was hours ago and he didn't respond the way she wanted him to, the young honey blonde was still reeling from the kiss with Ash. She excitedly made her way outside only stopping at the information desk to ask for directions to the nearest pokemon center. She took in the city air and sighed contentedly. It wasn't as fresh as Lumiose City, but it was different and signified the start of a brand new journey. She momentarily wished that Ash were there with her, but shook it off as she took off towards the pokemon center at a jog.

It only took her a few minutes to reach the Center as there were several in Petalburg City, or she was told. She smiled to herself as she stepped inside and took in the familiar sights of a pokemon center. Apparently the smaller ones were standardized from region to region. The familiar waiting area furnished with couches and a booth were to her left while the video phones were to her right. In the middle, right in front of her was a large counter with a familiar pink haired woman standing behind it. Beside her, was a pink pokemon sporting a matching hat and a small egg on its chest.

"Wow there are even nurse Joys here in Hoenn," she quietly said to herself. "But I've never seen that pokemon before." She thought about scanning it for a moment but thought it a little rude, so she walked up to introduce herself. "Hi nurse Joy! My name's Serena from the Kalos region. I just arrived here and was wondering if you could check up on my pokemon for me," she said as she unclipped three pokeballs from her belt.

"Of course! Welcome to Hoenn!" Greeted the pink haired nurse warmly. "Chansey here will take them back and do a routine health check," she said, gesturing to the pokemon beside her. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Oh so that's a chansey. I've never seen that pokemon before," Serena said with a smile, while examining the nurse's partner. "It's cute! But actually I was hoping that you had some information about Pokemon contests. I came here to compete in them!"

"Of course!" the nurse began. "Hoenn is th-"

"Excuse me!" interrupted a navy haired teen with glasses. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. My sister is a top coordinator so I could tell you a few things about them if you like." Just a little taller than Serena, he wore a green collared shirt and dark brown pants with matching green sneakers. If Serena had to guess she'd put his age at around sixteen or fifteen.

"Oh, hello!" Serena said, now turned to the new arrival. She wasn't bothered by the sudden intrusion, she was simply too excited to begin her new journey. "That'd be great!"

"Awesome!" the boy responded energetically, pumping a fist in the air. "I'm actually about to start my own journey. I'm going to challenge all the gyms and win the Ever Grande Conference!"

Serena couldn't help but giggle at this. 'He's so much like Ash,' she thought.

"I'm challenging the Rustboro City Gym first and there's actually a pokemon contest there in a few days. Why don't we travel there together? I could tell you all about contests on the way!" the boy continued, waving his arms animatedly.

"O-oh, uhm…" Serena sputtered out, putting her hands behind her back. She wasn't expecting the guy to ask her to travel with him. The honey blonde looked to the smiling nurse for help, wishing she hadn't stayed quiet this whole time. The pinkette simply gave a reassuring smile and nodded.

"Sure." Serena finally decided with a half smile. She still wasn't too sure of travelling with a stranger, but she did like to make new friends. "I just need to get my Pokemon back from Nurse Joy and we can leave."

"Alright!" the boy said, pumping his fist in the air once more. "I'll wait outside!" he said, taking off before Serena could say anything else. The young lady just stood there watching the doors of the pokemon center slide closed behind her new travelling partner.

'He sure has a lot of energy. I've never travelled with a complete stranger before, I hope it'll be okay.' Serena thought to herself as she fiddled with the blue ribbon on her dress. Ash's ribbon. It always gave her comfort or strength whatever the situation, you name it. Name. 'Oh Arceus, I didn't even ask him his name.' She mentally slapped herself.

As if reading her mind the nurse spoke up from behind her. "Don't worry." Serena turned to face her and saw that she had her pokeballs ready. "He's actually a Petalburg native and I know him quite well," the nurse said as she handed Serena her pokemon. "You'll be in good hands with him. His sister is the Princess of Hoenn after all. That's Max Maple."

###

Ash took one last step and stopped on top of a hill to take in the sight of home. The sun had just begun to set over Pallet, bathing the sleepy town with a soft orange glow as Ash took in the familiar sight of Professor Oak's lab. The building's white exterior was quite weathered, but it looked to still hold strong. Behind it was the sprawling ranch where Pallet Town trainers left their Pokemon to the care of Professor Oak. Of course considering the few trainers that started in Pallet Town, most the Pokemon he could see were his. Ash looked to his shoulder to see his long time travelling companion sitting there, ears perked up, and a look of longing on his face.

"Pika?" The little mouse squeaked.

"Go on buddy, say hi to your old friends. I'll be there in a bit."

With a "Pikachu!" the speedy Pokemon bolted to the ranch at a blinding speed, glowing in a bluish-white aura, leaving Ash in a cloud of dust. "Really? Quick-attack?" Ash said to his partner who was already long gone. The raven haired boy just shook his head with a smile and continued down the path to the lab with a contented sigh. He loved that stupid mouse.

After climbing the stone steps and making his way into the lab, Ash quickly realized that no one was there. "Hello? Professor Oak? Tracey?" He'd tried calling out to them several times but to no avail. Figuring they must've been out doing field work, he decided that he should slip into the back and drop off his Kalos team. They had been cooped up in their pokeballs for a while and they could use some fresh air.

As Ash opened the back door to the ranch, he was almost immediately smothered by his Pokemon. The herd of Tauros were first, nearly trampling him to death as they fought to show him their affection. Next was Gible, who of course claimed his customary spot, latching onto Ash's head with his jaws as Muk slid himself on top of his trainer to engulf him. Even with his desperate protesting, Ash was forced to endure several more painful greetings from the rest of his Pokemon. Once the onslaught had finished, Ash finally had a chance to release his Kalos team and out came Talonflame, Hawlucha, and Noivern. The sight of the three made him miss Greninja and Goodra for a moment, but they were both doing important work back in Kalos. The older Pokemon were quite impressed by the team that had finally brought Ash a Conference win, and after a few short introductions they were all making conversation amongst themselves. Satisfied with the scene, Ash's stomach made the next decision for him with a low growl.

"Heh. Guess I'm hungry. Pikachu! I'm heading home, you going to come?"

The electric type simply shook his head from his perch on top of Sceptile's head. He seemed content catching up with old friends, so Ash made his way home without him. As he closed the lab's door behind him and started down the path to his house, Ash thought once again about Serena. The blue eyed performer hadn't left his mind since he departed Kalos, and he seriously debated whether or not he was going crazy. She was a good friend and he definitely cared for her, but why was the image of her ingrained in the back of his head? Realizing that his mind was about to wander to the events of the airport, he mustered every ounce of his mental capacity and pushed it away. He didn't have to deal with all of that now, a couple thousand miles of ocean separated them after all.

Ash stepped through the front gate excitedly, gazing at his house. The two story home looked exactly the same as he had left it, from the pristine white walls to the clay colored scalloped roof, even down to the perfectly tended garden that his mother was quite proud of. The young trainer strode up to the door and knocked, bracing himself for the bone crushing hug he was about to receive from the brunette. Quiet shuffling could be heard from the other side of the door and it opened revealing a brunette. But not the one Ash was expecting.

"Hey, you," she said.

Ash was stunned. The young woman in front of him had medium length brown hair that was pulled into a ponytail, her bangs hung precariously just above her shimmering sapphire eyes, framing her beautiful face. Wait. Beautiful? Ash had never described anyone like that before. She wore a grey low cut tank top partially covered by a red unzipped jacket emblazoned with a white pokeball logo on her left breast. Not that Ash was looking or anything.. Below that she wore a short light pink skirt and dark grey boots. The ensemble showed off her thin yet shapely figure, and the whole thing made her look quite.. hot. Hot? What the hell? Ash would never call a girl hot. Would he? He supposed he just did. To make matters worse this girl was actually someone he recognized. "M-may?" Ash managed to pitifully let out.

May's welcoming smile twisted into a smirk and her eyes narrowed. This was the reaction she'd been hoping for, but she wasn't going to stop there. "M-m-m-may?" she teased, exaggerating Ash's flustered state. "Three years since we've seen each other, and that's all I get?" she said with extra sass, bringing a pair of balled fists to rest on her hips.

Knowing the poor boy was going to need a minute to get himself together and conjure up a response, May took a moment to look Ash up and down. She had watched the television broadcast of the Lumiose Conference and he had looked quite good then, but the cameras didn't do him justice in her opinion. They were fourteen the last time they were together and she had always thought he was cute. Now? Not really. He wasn't so much as cute, as drop dead _sexy_. He was much taller than she remembered, now standing at least six inches taller than her own 5'6" frame. His hair managed to look wilder if that was even possible. His red pokeball logo'd hat tried to contain it but failed miserably, giving him a dangerous look that was only betrayed by the warmth of his chocolate brown eyes. A black shirt hung on his broad, muscled shoulders, and his biceps were threatening to break free from the blue short sleeve jacket he wore over his shirt. As her eyes explored farther down to his grey cargo pants, she felt heat rise up from her core and she quickly fought the burgeoning blush she felt coming. Choosing instead to look down at his red sneakers, she waited until she cooled off before bringing her eyes back up to meet his. He was still standing there with his mouth hanging open.

Feeling guilty about what she had done to the raven haired trainer, May decided she needed to do something to snap him out of his stupor. She was unsure of what to do, but it didn't matter because apparently her body had made the decision for her. She blinked. May's head was buried in Ash's chest and her arms were wrapped securely around him. How did she get here? She couldn't dwell on the question long as her brain finally registered the feel of Ash's hard body against hers. "I missed you." She said almost involuntarily, grateful that he couldn't see just how flushed her cheeks were.

That did it.

Miraculously, Ash's brain somehow resumed normal function and he realized that he was being hugged. He reciprocated the embrace, enjoying the warmth that May provided. He knew that quite a few seconds had already passed, but it felt so comfortable and welcoming that he rested his cheek on the top of her head and simply closed his eyes. Apparently the feeling was mutual as May relaxed into his chest and the two stood there for quite some time.

"Ahem."

The two friends suddenly broke apart at the sound of a man loudly clearing his throat. Brock was standing at the doorway, arms crossed and a wide grin on his face. Ash was blushing and scratching the back of his head while May, similarly red, suddenly found Delia's garden too interesting not to look at.

"Why don't we let him come inside and meet the rest of his guests? Or were you not done with him? the man chided with an evil smirk.

May just gave him a hard glare and quickly scampered into the house, not wanting her friends to have a long look at how red she was.

"Brock! It's been too long!" Ash said after a moment as he cooled down and moved to give his old friend a brotherly hug. "Who else is here? I wasn't expecting anyone. I didn't even tell mom I was going to be home today!"

Brock simply laughed while returning the hug. "You think you can finally win a Pokemon Conference and help save the Kalos region in the span of three months and _not_ have a bunch of your friends welcome you home? I thought you were dense, Ash, not stupid," the spiky haired man said playfully.

"Hey! I-I…" Ash honestly didn't know how to respond to that.

"I'm just kidding with you, man," Brock said, clapping a hand on his back reassuringly. "Professor Oak kept in contact with Professor Sycamore and found out when you were getting back. Now come on. Everyone's dying to see you again."

As Ash and Brock entered the Ketchum living room, they were greeted with a hearty "Welcome Home!" from Misty, Gary, Tracey, Professor Oak, May, and Dawn, followed by assorted congratulatory remarks. Delia, was of course the first one in line. The brunette had closed the six meter gap between her and her son in a blink of an eye then smothered him in a classic Delia Ketchum hug. Well, as close to one as possible considering Ash was now much larger and taller than her.

"I'm so glad my little boy is home! Congratulations on your win, sweetie! I knew you could do it!" She squealed, as she rocked him back and forth in the hug.

"Thanks, mom. It's good to be home." He said with a smile as they broke the embrace.

To Ash's dismay, the rest of the initial reunion took a lot longer than expected since everyone was quite excited and smothered him with about a million questions about his travels, the Kalos Crisis and of course his crazy Greninja that could change forms. He normally wouldn't mind and usually enjoyed sharing in the company of his friends, but he still hadn't eaten dinner and was extremely hungry. A fact that his stomach wouldn't let him forget with its incessant rumbling. After an especially cheeky quip from Misty about the Lumiose Conference Champion sending out a caterpie against a pidgeotto, his stomach had enough and let out a monstrous growl that could rival a Charizard. After that, the socializing was moved to the dining room, but not before the group could laugh about the growl at Ash's expense.

Dinner ended up being a much quieter affair as the group could only watch as the man of the hour shoveled food as quickly as possible down his throat. May, who was beside him was also devouring the food at an alarming rate, albeit at a slower pace than Ash. It was quite the sight.

"Is it just me or has he gotten worse?" Misty asked no one in particular as she watched the two human garbage disposals inhale their food. "Is that even possible?"

Dawn let out a giggle from beside the orange haired girl. "I don't think so, if anything, May's just slowed down a little bit." She said smartly, tilting her head and eyeing the couple. She wondered if there was an objective way to measure how fast a person eats food.

"My boy just has a healthy appetite." Delia concluded, trying to change the conversation. "So Dawn! What are you doing now? Still competing in contests?"

"You bet!" The blunette answered energetically, setting her fork down. She always adored talking about contests. "Ever since May made top Coordinator in Hoenn _and_ Johto I've been more determined than ever to deflate that big head of hers." She said cheekily with a smirk. "I consider her my best friend and greatest rival and someone's gotta' pull her back down to earth." The young coordinator finished, sticking her tongue out at May.

Having finished her food onslaught, May was prepared to fire back at her friend. "Who's got the overinflated ego now? Ever since you won the Sinnoh Grand Festival you've been talking big about beating me." She retorted, pushing her now clean plate forward.

"You're the one taking an entire year off from coordinating. Someone thinks they can slack off and still be in top form," the blue haired girl shot back with a sly smile.

At this Ash managed to peel his attention away from his food and turned to May with a furrowed brow. "You're not competing this year?" He asked curiously while wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"No, I just thought it would be nice to take a break for a little while. Max is actually starting his journey right now and I thought I could travel around with him a little bit." May responded somewhat bashfully. "That's why he's not here right now, but he told me to congratulate you for him and to say hi."

"Oh he's finally going on his journey? That's great!" Ash said, clearly happy for his younger friend. "So what about you, Brock?" He turned to his oldest of friends. "Still working on being a Pokemon Doctor?"

"Yeah I am!" Replied the ex-gym leader, sitting up a little straighter. "I'm actually almost done with my studies. Only one semester left before I start my residency at a Pokemon Hospital!"

"Whoa! That's great Brock!" Ash said, followed by a chorus of agreements from the rest of the group.

"Ah it's no big deal, really." The spiky haired man protested. "What is a big deal is that Misty here," he gestured to the fiery redhead beside him who had just stiffened up at his words, "just applied to be in the Kanto Elite Four."

"WHAT!?" Everyone blurted out at once.

"I told you I didn't want to tell anyone unless I got accepted!" Misty screamed angrily, causing the older man to shrink down into his chair. A mallet had somehow materialized into the water type gym leader's hands and the situation looked dire for the young doctor, but fortunately Delia quickly defused the situation as she walked in with dessert.

"Not in the house, dear." The matriarch scolded lightly. "Let's just enjoy some dessert."

The fiery redhead begrudgingly cooled down as the group shared in a variety of cakes, cookies, and pastries together. Her friends, as always, encouraged her and reassured her that applying for such a position was something to be proud of, no matter the outcome.

After that, the rest of the night passed relatively quickly, with the group of friends only briefly discussing Gary's field work and Tracey's more permanent position at the Oak Laboratory. Soon it was getting late and the group had to say their goodbyes. Misty had to go back to Cerulean to prepare for her upcoming interview and audition for the Elite Four, while Brock had plenty of studying left to do at Pewter City. Gary, Tracey, and Professor Oak all retired back to the lab, leaving May and Dawn to stay with the Ketchums.

"So how long are you two planning on staying?" Ash said, turning to his last two visitors. Dawn was sprawled out on the couch, while May shared a loveseat with Ash. The blunette grinned slightly, noticing that they were sitting awfully close together.

"Why do you ask? Tired of us already?" May asked, teasingly. She felt a little bad about it, but she couldn't help but mess with the guy since it was so easy. Plus, she secretly hoped that he would respond in some sort of charming or flirty way. Though that was simply wishful thinking. He was still Ash after all.

Dawn just rolled her eyes at this and sought to save the raven haired trainer from her friend's not so subtle flirting. "May and I were planning on staying for a couple of days, if that's okay with you," she said. "We already asked your mom about it."

Ash's eyes lit up. "That'd be great! All I have planned between now and challenging the Kalos Elite Four is some heavy training," he admitted somewhat bashfully. "It'd be nice to have some company, even if it's just for a couple of days," he finished with a smile.

"Great!" May replied, while looking at the clock. "It is late though, I'm getting a little tired. I think it's time to get some sleep."

"Yeah you're right," Ash said as he got up to head to his bedroom. He made it all the way to the stairs before remembering that he had guests. Stopping in his tracks, he turned back to the two girls. "I'm sleeping on the couch, aren't I?"

May had a devious look on her face and was about to say something when Delia popped out from the kitchen. "May slept in your room last night, but we have two beds in the guest room now so the girls can sleep there," the young mother said.

Ash looked relieved at this while May looked a little disappointed. Ash didn't notice however and bolted upstairs with a "thanks, mom!" Dawn was about halfway up herself when she noticed May had stopped at the foot of the stairs. The brunette looked like she was lost in her own world, a small blush on her face. Dawn cracked a mischievous smile. "What're you thinking about?" she asked accusingly.

May emerged from her thoughts slowly. "W-wha?" she stammered, as the... compromising images of her and Ash dissolved from her mind. "Nothing!" she squeaked out, her blush deepening.

"Riight," Dawn drawled sarcastically, turning around to continue up the stairs. "I'm going to let you have the bathroom first," she said as nonchalantly as she could, leaving a sufficiently flustered and vibrantly scarlet May.

Ash's eyes gazed over his room, as he stripped out of his travel clothes and slipped into a white shirt and running shorts. His room was exactly how he left it before his journey to Kalos. His badges from various regions were proudly displayed in shadow boxes mounted to the wall, pictures of him and his friends were scattered around the room, most on shelves or hung on the walls while the rest sat on his desk around his Orange League trophy. He chuckled to himself as his eyes landed on his bed. That was _not_ how he left it. The pillows were scattered, one even making it all the way to the floor while the bedsheets were in no better condition. May was never one to make her bed, and apparently she was a wild sleeper. His thoughts briefly drifted to what else she was like in bed, but startled by the thought, he shook himself out of it quickly. 'What the hell was that about? I must be tired,' he thought to himself as he slipped into bed. A familiar scent filtered into his nose as he lay his head on his pillows. He couldn't quite place it, but he found it quite relaxing and quickly drifted off into sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Well it's 1:15 and I really should be sleeping since it's not yet Friday night, but I really wanted to get this out for you guys. A/N's will be moved to the end of each chapter from here on out.

* * *

"Marill, the Aqua Mouse Pokémon. The tip of its tail floats in water, so it can swim in any current no matter how rough." The pokedex droned in its electronic voice. "So cute!" Squeaked a honey blonde teen as the little blue Pokemon dove back into the brush. She made a mental note to try to catch one later.

Serena and Max were walking down Route 104, just outside of Petalburg City. The older girl was excitedly taking in the new sights of a foreign region while Max just trailed behind watching her. Truth be told, he was a little worried about starting his journey alone and was glad to have someone with him. He thought of his sister who promised to travel with him, but instead decided to travel to another region to chase after some boy. Okay, that was unfair. It was Ash, and he couldn't really blame the girl for wanting to see the trainer she'd been crushing on for years. Besides, Serena seemed like fun and was quite passionate about pokemon. He was sure that they'd get along. Plus it didn't hurt that she was easy on the eyes. Quite easy, actually. She was gorgeous. Fighting a blush, he jogged up to the girl who was now trying to approach a wild Zigzagoon and failing miserably.

"So you want to compete in Pokemon contests, huh?" Max asked after the wild Pokemon had bolted into some tall grass and out of sight.

"Yeah!" Serena replied, turning to Max. "The Kalos region has something similar called Pokemon Showcases, and I enjoyed those so I thought I'd try my hand at contests," she said, choosing her words carefully. She didn't really want to reveal to him that she was Kalos Queen. Not yet anyhow.

"Hm, Pokemon Showcases. I can't say I've ever heard of those before." Max confessed as the two started walking down the path again. "Do you know how contests work?"

Serena shrugged. "I've seen a few videos on the internet, but I have to admit, I don't actually know any of the rules," she said apprehensively. Now that she thought about it, travelling all the way to a new region to compete in something she didn't completely understand was a little silly. She smiled to herself though. She was becoming just as impulsive as Ash.

"Well don't worry!" Max said reassuringly whilst flashing her a smile. "I've been to quite a few and know how they work. First off, trainers that compete in contests are called coordinators. The contests themselves are pretty simple. The first round is what's called the appeals round. There, you do a routine showing off the talents and skills of your Pokemon using their moves. Each routine is given a score and you go on to the next round depending on where you place. After that are the battle rounds. You still have to show off style and beauty, but you have to battle as well. There's usually a five minute time limit and each coordinator starts off with a certain number of points. You lose points for getting hit, or missing a move and whoever has the most points when time runs out wins. You can also win if you get a knockout." Max explained quickly, a little winded.

"That does sound an awful lot like Showcases." Serena said after digesting all that the blue haired teen had said. "I guess the biggest difference is that performers don't battle."

"WHAT!?" Max blurted out incredulously. "What's the point if you don't get to battle?" He asked with a frown.

"The point of Pokemon Showcases is to show the bond you have with your Pokemon and to give the audience something fun and entertaining to watch." Serena said, a little confused by the trainer's outburst. "Why were you so surprised?"

"Sorry, I guess I just have a hard time imagining a world without pokemon battles." Max said, chuckling nervously. His face then became more serious. "But Hoenn is the premier region for contests. Coordinators here work really hard to perfect contest battles. You might have a hard time with them."

Serena chose to ignore the comment against her battling skill, and simply smiled instead. "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be fine," she said.

Unfortunately Max hadn't figured out how to quit while he was still ahead quite yet. "You don't understand, I just don't want you to get stomped at your first contest. You'll have to train really hard!" he said.

The honey blonde could hear the concern in his voice, but something inside her had already snapped. Apparently Ash had rubbed off on her more than she thought. "I'll be fine, I'll prove it to you. Let's have a battle!" she huffed, unable to hide the irritation in her voice.

"Huh?" was all Max could get out as he watched the performer stamp away from him. He watched as she stopped a good distance away and spun around.

"Are you ready?" She called out to him.

"Listen, you really don't have to-"

"Braixen! Come on out!" the honey blonde interrupted, as she tossed a pokeball into the air. Her faithful fire type materialized in a brilliant flash of light in front of her. "One on one sound good to you?" She called to him once again.

"O-okay," Max said, looking curiously at the Pokemon before him. "What Pokemon is that?" he asked rhetorically as he retrieved his pokedex from his bag.

"Braixen, the Fox Pokémon and the evolved form of Kalos starter, Fennekin. To defeat its opponent, Braixen combines the flame from the twig in its tail with its fiery breath, creating a massive Fire Spin," the pokedex piped out.

"That's your starter, huh?" Max said, thumbing a pokeball and unclipping it from his belt. "Then let me show you mine. Grovyle, I choose you!"

Serena winced a little at those words. "He really is just like Ash," she said to herself as she watched the green lizard appear in front of her. "A grass type?" she asked curiously.

"Don't think that type match ups matter against me," Max responded confidently. "I'll let you have the first move."

'Okay, now this is getting weird,' Serena thought before turning to her first partner. "Let's see what he's got," she said just loud enough for her Pokemon to hear. "Braixen, use Ember!"

The fox Pokemon nodded and opened her mouth, letting loose a shimmering yellow-orange stream of fire towards the opposing grovyle.

"Cut through it and hit her with Leaf Blade!" Max countered, throwing his hand out in front of him. The grass starter did as it was told. With the leaves on its arms glowing green it bolted straight towards the incoming attack, cutting through it with ease as it quickly closed the distance to its opponent. Max grinned at the sight, confident that he would land the first hit. However, it was short lived. His brow furrowed as he looked across the field to see Serena smirking at him.

"Take it," she said.

Max's eyes widened, his face twisting into a look of confusion. "Wha?"

The loyal fire type simply smiled as Grovyle made the last step and brought its sharpened leaves into her chest. Braixen winced a little as it was thrown off its feet and high into the air. Serena wasted no time continuing her plan. "Now, Braixen! Use Fire Spin!" Using the momentum from the impact, the bipedal pokemon did a backflip to right itself and quickly spun its stick, creating a ring of fire. Still airborne, the fox unleashed a torrent of spiraling flames that quickly found its mark. "Vyle!" The grass type yelled in surprise as it was engulfed in a column of deep orange fire.

Max's jaw dropped. The counterattack had come so fast after taking a hit, he didn't have a chance to react. "Grovyle, get out of there!" He yelled desperately, but it was too late. Grovyle was trapped. "Let's finish this quick!" he heard Serena yell from across the field. "Fire Blast!" she shouted, thrusting both of her arms out in her signature pose. The navy haired trainer's jaw dropped even farther. "It knows Fire Blast?"

Braixen didn't waste a second. Immediately after landing, it outstretched its branch once more and blew into it, releasing a star shaped blaze of fire. The Daimonji flew straight and true, slamming into the Fire Spin with Grovyle inside. The two moves briefly coalesced into a massive inferno before exploding in a dazzling flash of yellow and showering the battlefield with orange and yellow sparkles. Serena smiled as she watched scene. Braixen was standing proudly, admiring its work, while Grovyle lay motionless several meters in front of her. The fox would always be a Performer's pokemon.

The blue haired trainer pushed his glasses up and rubbed his eyes with both of his hands. He couldn't believe what he just witnessed. He wasn't just beaten, he was completely rolled. And with a move that could've rivaled anything his sister could muster on her best day. 'Who is this girl?' he thought to himself as he unclipped Grovyle's Pokeball and returned him. "Thanks for everything, I'm sorry I messed up. Now take a good rest," he said, somewhat disappointed.

"Any more comments about my battling?" Serena said slyly as she approached the younger trainer, Braixen following behind her.

Max stood there lamely for a second, a million questions racing through his mind before he finally decided on one. "Where the heck did you learn how to battle like that?!" he asked quite loudly.

The Performer couldn't help but giggle. "I'll take that as a no," she said before bringing a hand up and placing it at the back of her neck. "I'm sorry I got kinda'... aggressive with you. I don't normally do that, I'm not sure what happened. But to answer your question, I learned from a friend. He's one of the best!" she finished with a smile, removing her hand from her neck and wrapping her fingers around the blue ribbon on her dress.

"I'd really like to meet him some day!" Max replied with newfound excitement. "And don't worry about it. I kinda deserved it," he said as he looked at the sky, realizing that it was starting to get dark. "We should probably set up camp. Rustboro City is still a day's walk from here."

###

May watched the scene in front of her in bliss while a quite soaked and shirtless Ash was sparring with his buizel. She briefly wondered when he had developed the physique of a Greek God, but quickly realized she didn't really care how the magnificent sight before her came to be. She just wanted to watch. She gazed intently at Ash as he blocked Ice Punch, after Ice Punch, his arms bristling with power and his abs rippling as he used his entire body to reciprocate the force of the powerful sea otter. As human and pokemon collided tirelessly, each impact scattered a mixture of water, ice, and sweat into the air. The assortment of liquid shimmered in the sunlight, basking the two partners in a gentle glow. May thought the scene looked like it belonged in a movie. "You're staring again," Came a voice next to her.

The brunette blinked away her thoughts and turned in the direction of the voice. 'Oh yeah, Dawn's here.' She mentally slapped herself for forgetting about her best friend _again_. After a hearty brunch, May and Dawn had decided to come to Professor Oak's ranch to watch Ash train and catch up. Upon their arrival however, the raven haired trainer was already in the full swing of his training, shirt off, displaying all of his toned glory. Needless to say, there hadn't been much catching up yet. "Sorry," the brunette said bashfully.

The bluenette just smiled at her friend, "It's okay, it is quite the sight," she said.

"Dawn!" May snapped, shooting a glare at her best friend. "Don't you even think about it."

Noticing that the Hoenn native actually looked uneasy in her chair, Dawn decided to clear the air. "You know I don't think about Ash that way. I'm on your side!" The blue haired coordinator paused and promptly looked down at the ground before continuing. "I just had to admit that it's a nice view," she said with a shrug.

Satisfied that her friend was being genuine, the brunette cracked a smile and was about to agree with her friend when she was suddenly interrupted.

"Yeah- Pallet Town is- always beautiful- in the morning," Ash panted out as he approached his former traveling companions. He found an extra chair and slumped into it, trying to catch his breath. "Man, Buizel hasn't been slacking off while I was gone."

Relieved that the Lumiose Conference Champion only caught the tail end of their conversation, the two girls exchanged knowing looks and simultaneously burst into a fit of giggles.

Deciding that he must have missed a joke, Ash simply leaned back in his chair and admired the sight of his and his friends' pokemon sparring and playing in the fields.

Talonflame and Pignite were firing ranged attacks at each other, each exchange resulting in brilliant flashes of fire, while Pikachu and Piplup were demonstrating how size wasn't the most important attribute when it came to strength. The two small powerhouses relentlessly slammed into each other with normal type attacks, each collision producing small shockwaves that flattened the surrounding blades of grass.

"Wow! Piplup has gotten really strong, hasn't he?" Ash voiced his observation once he noticed the girls had finished their giggling.

Beaming, the bluenette sat up in her seat. "Yep! We've been working really hard. Just because I'm a coordinator doesn't mean my pokemon and I can't hold our own in a battle!" she said.

"I would expect nothing less," Ash said, flashing her a smile and relaxing back into his chair with his arms stretched behind his head. His gaze found its way skyward to where Noivern and Staraptor were racing each other through the mild Kanto air. He briefly wondered how fast his predator pokemon had gotten and made a decision to fly with him later in the day.

Hearing May clear her throat from her other side, Dawn turned to her with a questioning look. The brunette tilted her head towards their trainer friend in a repetitive motion. Understanding that her friend was trying to get her to enact a plan they had concocted earlier in the morning, Dawn cocked her head and shot May another look as if to say, "Really? Now?" This only caused the brunette to increase the intensity of her gestures, and after a few seconds of silently arguing back and forth, Dawn conceded in fear of her best friend's head falling off.

Rolling her eyes and turning to Ash, who was still fixated on his flying pokemon, she reached over and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Ash! It's been a while since you've been to a pokemon contest, hasn't it?" she asked, hoping to pull him in.

"Yeah I guess it's been a couple years," Ash replied, diverting his attention back to his friends. "Why do you ask?"

"Well I just thought maybe since you have an entire year to train for the Elite Four, you could come watch me compete at a grand festival and cheer me on in a few months!" Dawn said excitedly. "May's going to be there!" she added with a wink.

Ash pursed his lips together as he pondered the bluenette's words for a moment. "That sounds awesome, actually! I'm sure my pokemon and I could use a short break by then," he said. "But May, I thought you were going to travel with Max" Ash asked the other coordinator, remembering their discussion about the young navy haired trainer on the previous night.

May gave a small shrug, "I still plan on traveling with him, but I'm sure he'll be fine if I leave him for a few days to watch the grand festival. Plus the Hoenn Grand Festival is in Slateport City again, so it will be easy to catch a ferry or plane from there to Ever Grande City," she explained.

Hoenn. Ash's pulse quickened as a red fedora and a pair of azure orbs fleetingly flashed in and out of his mind's eye. "O-oh," he began, diverting his eyes to Dawn. "I didn't know you were journeying through Hoenn this season," Ash said, as he futilely tried to fight the images worming into his consciousness. Brown riding boots. Pink thigh-length dress. Serena.

"Yeah I am! It's been really great so far. May's been giving me all sorts of advice since you guys have alrea- hey Ash, are you okay?" Dawn interrupted herself as Ash shut his eyes and brought his hand up to his head.

"I'm fine, it's just a headache," he lied. "Sorry guys, but I think I'm going to go for a walk." Ash said as he slowly got up from his chair and walked over to the spot in the field where he left his bag and shirt.

The two coordinators exchanged worried glances as they watched Ash collect his things and call out to Pikachu who apparently got bored of sparring and was lounging around a nanab berry tree with Piplup and Buizel. The girls looked on as Ash briskly disappeared through the lab's back door with his electric starter in tow, only to reappear in the front and walk down the path heading out of town until he disappeared over a hill.

"That was weird," Dawn declared slowly, still trying to make sense of what just happened.

"Yeah, what was that about?" the brunette added, her face shifting into a look of confusion. "What should we do? Should we go after him?"

"Maybe we should just go back to the house. Dinner's in a few hours and I'm sure he'll come back for that," the younger coordinator offered. "No need to worry! We both know that Ash can take care of himself," she said, trying to lighten the mood by standing up excitedly and making a show of smoothing down her top. "C'mon Piplup! We're going back!"

Gazing down the path Ash had just walked, May couldn't help but worry about the boy she was so fond of. "I hope you're right."

###

Dawn sat on the couch and sadly eyed her best friend as she lay supine in the middle of the Ketchum living room. The young brunette had been there, staring up at the ceiling fan for the past thirty minutes. They returned several hours ago, dinner had come and gone, and there was still no sign of their raven haired friend.

"Do you know where he could've gone?" asked the bluenette, trying to prod May back to life.

"If I knew that, I would've already gone after him," the older girl responded loudly, a little agitated "I knew we should have followed him."

A few moments of silence passed between the two friends before May rolled onto her side to face Dawn. "I'm sorry, I'm just worried about him. You saw it. He was acting really weird right before he left, and he lied. Ash doesn't do that."

"That's it!" Dawn sighed out, quickly standing up from her seat on the couch. "We're going out there and looking for him! He has to be out training on top of a giant hill or by a pond or down by the beach or something!" she exclaimed as she strode over to the front door and opened it. Looking back, she could see that May had gotten off the floor, but was still standing in the middle of the living room with a pensive look on her face. "Are you coming?"

"By a pond. That's it, Dawn! You're amazing! I remember Ash once told me about a spot by a pond that he liked to visit when he was home. He's there. I'm sure of it!" May excitedly let loose, radiating her first sign of life since Ash left.

Glad to see that her best friend wasn't moping around anymore, Dawn cracked a smile and was about to go out the door when a sly smirk overcame her face. She stepped backwards and holding the door open, looked back at her enamored friend.

"Go get him."

* * *

A/N: I may be a little evil. That's chapter 3 and I hope you enjoyed it!

I'm moving the author's notes to the end because I want to talk more about the story as well as the reviews that stand out to me as well as ramble on about random stuff, and not everyone is going to want to read all of this (sometimes incomprehensible) mess. If I make a big announcement, I will make sure to put it at the beginning, so you won't be missing anything if you skip all of these A/N's.

I feel like my not so short hiatus has distanced me from the feel and pace I was originally going for in this fic and the second half of this chapter didn't come out the way I wanted, but after scrapping and rewriting and rescrapping parts of it over and over I finally gave up and it is what it is. Luckily, the next chapter will be a fresh start since I hadn't written any of it until after my return. Hopefully it will be better and be closer to my initial vision. Anyway, on to discussing the content!

Sorry Amourshippers! It looks like May might have some quality Ash time soon-ish, and Serena is in Hoenn unaware of it all. But at least she spanked Max, right? I won't get into why he's just starting his journey at 15 because it will be explained in-story, but rest-assured, he is not a weak trainer. Serena just happens to be a complete badass in this fic. Actually, every character that fought in the Kalos Crisis will be pretty strong in this story. More details about that later, but I did hint at the fact that the Kalos Crisis in this story was a lot bigger deal than it was in the anime. They beat team flare in like what, one day?

That was my first time writing a pokemon battle and yes, it was super short. Just like other firsts… I promise most of the battles in this story won't be one sided stomps, this particular one just had a few points to prove.

Will Ash come clean to May and Dawn about what's bothering him? Is he really going to Hoenn? How will Max and Serena fair on their visit to Rustboro City? Find out the answers to these questions and more in the next chapter!

Yeah, no. That was gross. I'm not doing that ever again. One last thing, I do want some reader input on a few minor events coming up so what I would like is for you guys to tell me what characters from the show you'd like to see pop up at the grand festival. We're not really close to that time yet, but I already have a decent list of characters going, and if I add more I want to have time to build them into the story without making them seem like just an add-on to appease the readers.


	4. Chapter 4

"Mightyena, I choose you!" Max yelled as he flung a pokeball into the field. A vicious hyena with gray and black fur manifested itself from a gleaming white light in front of the young trainer. On the other side of the battlefield was a floating rock and ground type along with its own trainer. "This is an official gym battle against gym leader Roxanne. This will be a 2 on 2 battle, only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions. Challenger Max Maple, are you ready?" announced the referee. Max simply acknowledged him with a single nod. Surveying the field in front of him, he began to formulate a plan on how to use the field to his advantage. Rustboro Gym was a rock type gym, it had an uneven rocky floor, rock formations were strewn about the field, and the entire gym was littered with… rocks. Max didn't really know how else to describe it.

"Geodude versus Mightyena, begin!"

"Alright, Geodude let's get things rolling with Rock Throw!" the brunette gym leader called to her pokemon. "Geo!" came the response as the levitating rock with arms began hurling mineral projectiles at blinding speeds towards his opponent.

"Avoid it Mightyena! Use that boulder as cover!" Max countered, pointing towards the closest obstacle he could find. The quick footed pokemon swiftly bolted from his spot and found refuge behind a large boulder, narrowly escaping his opponent's attack. "Nice one! Now use tackle!" the challenger yelled as soon as he saw the rocky barrage start to thin. Once clear, Mightyena leapt on top of his cover and propelled himself towards the boulder pokemon with two powerful kicks from his hind legs. The gap between them closed quickly, and Tackle connected with a loud crack, sending Roxanne's pokemon sailing through the air.

"Max!" the gym leader yelled from across the field. "I've been waiting a long time to see you at my gym, and I honestly expected better from you. Normal type attacks aren't very effective against rock types," she said in a teacherly tone, holding up her pointer finger and wagging it at the young trainer.

"I know," Max retorted with a smile. This prompted Roxanne to shift her gaze to her pokemon. Geodude had crashed into the stoney floor and was trying to pull himself out to no avail. "Now, Mightyena! Use Bite!" The four-legged pokemon wasted no time in following his trainer's command, and was once again closing the distance between him and his opponent.

"Geodude use Stone Edge to counter!" quickly came the school teacher's response, her vision darting between her pokemon and the fast approaching threat.

Max's breath hitched from across the field. He didn't expect Geodude to know such a high level move and Roxanne was about to show him that she wasn't messing around. He balled his fists tightly and held his breath as he watched the rock pokemon concentrate its energy into its next move. 'I hope Mightyena is fast enough,' he thought.

The hyena was blazing towards his opponent, mouth open and ready to inflict some serious damage. Six feet. Five feet. Three. One. Mightyena slammed its powerful jaws against its mark, earning a strained "duuuude!" from the boulder pokemon. Seeing the attack land, Max let out his breath only to draw it back in suddenly when a rocky lance erupted from beneath Mightyena and threw him upwards. Following a high pitched yelp, the quadruped arced high through the air and landed on the rocky floor with a thud.

"Are you alright, Mightyena?" Max worriedly asked one of his oldest companions. The resilient pokemon scrambled to its feet, worn but willing to continue. On the opposite side of the field, Geodude was dusting off, having managed to dislodge himself from the ground.

This is when Roxanne decided to make her move. "Now, Geodude. Let's show them what you're made of! Use rollout!" The boulder pokemon tucked its arms into its body and began to roll towards Mightyena, quickly picking up speed.

Max smiled, seeing the gym leader's choice of attack. He called to his pokemon, making sure he was quiet enough to not be heard from across the gym, "here's our chance Mightyena. You know what to do. Hit him on my signal." The hyena simply responded with a grunt and dug his feet into the ground in preparation for his next attack.

The navy haired teen watched carefully as Geodude neared the point of no return. As soon as the rock type was too close to stop, he seized his opportunity. "Now, Mightyena! Finish this with Hyper Beam!" he boomed, throwing his arm out in front of him.

Without waiting for his trainer to finish speaking, Mightyena opened its maw, revealing a bright yellow-orange ball of energy. In a split second, it exploded into a massive beam of power that easily dwarfed its intended target. The result was blinding, causing everyone in the gym to shield their eyes.

When the light died down, the gym was eerily quiet. The only audible sounds were the soft pants of Mightyena, who stood shakily on all fours. Surveying the field he could clearly see the carnage he created. He might've overdone it. The Hyper Beam had gouged a long and wide smoldering line in the rocky earth. The gym's back wall had barely withstood the impact, scarred with several large cracks and a deep crater at the center. A very crispy Geodude was embedded in the wall with swirls in its eyes.

"Geodude is unable to battle! The winner of this round is Mightyena!" the referee announced as the bleachers erupted in applause.

Serena clapped loudly in the stands cheering on her new travelling companion. "Awesome job, Max! You've got this!" she yelled, regardless of whether or not he could hear her over the crowd. The gym was surprisingly crowded. Students of all ages sat shoulder to shoulder watching the event carefully. There were even camera crews filming the battle from several angles and Serena presumed the students would be analyzing the footage later in their classes.

"Excuse me," a voice piped up from beside her. Serena looked to her left to find a pair of curious, light purple eyes on her. A pretty blue-green haired girl holding a mudkip was smiling warmly at her. "Is that your boyfriend on the field?"

The honey blonde's eyes widened in surprise, "No! Not at all, we just met a few days ago," she said with an unexpected faint blush on her cheeks.

The new girl nodded slowly before furrowing her brow in confusion "Okay.. are you challenging the gym next?" she asked.

"No, I'm a perf- I'm a coordinator. I just came along to watch my friend win his badge."

The schoolgirl raised an eyebrow, clearly still unconvinced. "So you like him."

"No!" Serena protested, waving her hands in front of her. "It's a long story, but we're traveling together."

"Oh okay," the girl conceded, looking satisfied. "He's cute though isn't he? And he's such an awesome battler! I've never seen a Mightyena use Hyper Beam before. That was so cool!"

The Kalos Queen simply nodded her head in agreement, sharing the younger girl's enthusiasm about the unexpected move. She made a mental note to ask Max about it later as she turned her attention back to see that Roxanne had returned her fainted geodude and was getting ready to choose her next pokemon.

Max stood in the challenger's box beaming with energy as he waited for his opponent's choice of pokemon. He gazed around the gym to take in his surroundings, shifting his feet restlessly on the hard floor of the gym. This was his moment. It was _the_ moment. He'd been waiting for this day to come since he first started traveling with Ash over four years ago. Countless hours of training, part-time jobs, and helping out with his father's gym while his mother was sick had led up to his very first gym battle. Nervousness, excitedness, confidence, and worry all bubbled into his consciousness, but details didn't really matter - this moment could really only be described by three words.

He felt alive.

###

Ash lay in the soft grass, head propped up on his backpack, a small yellow mouse curled up on his stomach. After he had left his friends he wandered Route 1 for several hours enjoying the reminiscent sights of his home region before ending up at a pond right off the path. It brought him back to seven years ago when he first started his journey as a young, bright-eyed pokemon trainer with dreams of becoming a pokemon master. Of course, he was still passionate about his dreams and he was closer than ever to achieving them, but things were much simpler when he was ten.

Honestly, he would have been more than happy living a life where all he had to worry about were his pokemon and his dream, but apparently his mind and body had other plans. He let out a heavy sigh as he looked up at the bright stars that dotted the sky. 'I don't understand what's going on,' Ash admitted to himself as he gently stroked his starter's fur, earning a coo from the little mouse. Ever since Dawn had mentioned Hoenn the young trainer couldn't get a certain sapphire eyed performer out of his head. 'Why can't I stop thinking about her? Any little thing and she pops up with that cute smile, slim figure, long slender legs tha- okay _seriously_ what is going on? I really need to talk to Brock soon, he would know what's up. But Hoenn. Serena said she was competing in contests there and knowing her, she'll probably be at the grand festival. What am I going to do? Should I go? It's way too awkward right now, I don't even know what I would say to her. And I don't know how she feels about me, I don't even know how I feel about her! No, I do. She's a childhood friend and I care a lot about her. That's simple. Right? Besides, the grand festival isn't for another five months.'

"Ugh," the raven haired trainer groaned, closing his eyes and bringing his hands up to massage his temples. "Pika?" Ash opened his eyes to see his starter standing on its hind legs, ears perked up on high alert. "What is it buddy?" the trainer asked. Without answering, the electric starter's attentive look briefly melted into a smirk before he took off towards the nearby treeline and disappeared into the brush. "Pikachu!" Ash propped himself up with his elbows and yelled after his starter, but it was already gone. With a hefty sigh and an eye roll, Ash plopped back down on the ground and gazed up to the stars once more. "He's been running off a lot lately." His thoughts temporarily silent, he traced a couple of constellations with his eyes until his view was obscured by a figure standing over him.

"Enjoying the view?" a feminine voice asked teasingly.

Recognizing the voice, Ash momentarily looked the figure up and down before he realized just how _short_ May's skirt actually was. Finally registering what the coordinator said and what he was looking at, his body heat rose at an alarming rate and he could feel himself start to turn red. "NO!" he blurted out in embarrassment. "I wasn't.. I mean.. I was… But you were.." Ash clumsily stumbled on his words before finally taking a deep breath and settling on "Hi May."

"Hi."

Understanding what he had done to his friends, Ash felt guilt rise up from his stomach. "Listen," he began slowly, "I'm sorry about earlier. I wasn't really feeling like myself, and I just needed some time alone. I understand if you're upset."

May sighed and sat down in the grass beside him. "It's okay, I'm not mad. And neither is Dawn. We were just worried about you," she assured him before cracking a smile. "Your mom on the other hand, might kill you."

Ash groaned, bringing a hand up to cover his eyes. "Yeah, I know. We should probably go back, huh?"

"Uhm.. couldn't we stay for a little longer? It's so beautiful here" May said, not wanting to miss an opportunity. She slowly removed her hair tie and shook her silky brunette tresses loose. As she did so, the moonlight shone behind her, haloing the young coordinator as she ran her fingers through her hair to straighten it out. Something tugged at the corner of Ash's heart and he drew a sharp breath akin to a gasp. 'What the hell is wrong with me?' he wondered.

"Fine by me," the raven haired trainer said, trying to ignore the pressure building in his chest. "But you're dealing with my mother when we get back." he finished with a chuckle, feeling himself loosen up a little.

The brunette smiled. "Thanks, Ash."

The Kanto native finally took the time to look around the spot where he ended up. The calm water of the pond started only a few meters away from them. The stagnant water was so still it looked like glass reflecting the shimmer of the soft moonlight despite the gently blowing breeze that cradled the trees around them back and forth. Ash smiled as he recognized a familiar rocky ledge on the shoreline. "You know May, this is where my journey really began."

The coordinator took her eyes off the scenery and turned to her crush. "Really?"

"You remember the story that Misty and I told you about how we met?"

May leaned back and looked skyward, thinking about all of the stories she'd been told over the years. "Yeah, didn't she fish you and Pikachu out of the water somewhere?"

"Yup," Ash responded, gesturing towards the craggy perch from which a fiery redhead had saved him and his pikachu all those years ago.

"No… That's so cool. Wait, didn't you ruin her bike right after that? You have a problem, mister," she got out with a stifled giggle, remembering the events of the day they met. The brunette had now turned her entire body and sat cross legged facing the young trainer.

"I think you're right," Ash said, a look of revelation overcoming his face. "But actually.. I'm kinda' glad that Pikachu roasted your bike. That's the whole reason why you decided to travel with me," he finished, flashing a lopsided grin.

May nearly melted into a puddle after hearing those words and seeing that smile. That stupid classic Ash smile.. 'Why is he so damn attractive?' Fighting the urge to jump him, and fearing her hands were going to do something she would regret, May stuffed her hands in her skirt pockets where her right hand bumped against something metallic.

'Oh yeah, that's not helping.'

After taking a moment and focusing all of her energy into calming down, she wrapped her fingers around the diminutive object. "Hey Ash, do you remember this?" she asked, producing a half-ribbon from her pocket.

###

"Mightyena, return!" Max called to his pokemon as he aimed a pokeball at the hyena. The dark type nodded its head with a weary grunt as he was hit with a red beam and vanished. "Thanks for winning that one for me, buddy. Take a good rest, we'll take it from here."

Max looked across the field at his opponent's next pokemon, the colossal head of a pokemon stood well above average height at three meters tall. It had relatively short legs and arms and a bright orange nose jutted out of its rocky exterior.

"Nosepass is raring to go, Max! Who's your next pokemon going to be?" Roxanne shouted from across the field with her hands on her hips.

"Well that's an easy one," Max responded with a grin on his face. Reaching behind him, the trainer plucked a pokeball from his belt and enlarged it. "Grovyle! I choose you!" he yelled as he snapped his arm forward and released the pokeball.

"Vyle!" the grass starter called out as it appeared in a flash of white light.

"Battle begin!"

"Alright Grovyle let's the start this off big with Leaf Storm!"

The dinosaur-like pokemon focused its energy and with its tail glowing a brilliant green, spun and shot a flurry of razor sharp leaves at its opponent.

"Nosepass use sandstorm then dodge!" came the reply.

The air in the stadium suddenly whipped into a violent frenzy, the silicon laden winds whistling loudly in the massive gym. Max raised his arm up to his face to protect himself from the stinging grains of sand. Despite being unable to see what was going on, he calmly called to his pokemon, only raising his voice so he could be heard over the wind. "Grovyle, keep the attack going! Trust yourself, Nosepass isn't very fast!"

A green flash of light could be seen within the maelstrom, followed by a booming explosion. Max smiled, knowing Grovyle had hit its mark.

"Nosepass! Use your nose to navigate, use Lock On, then Thunder Wave!" Roxanne screamed from her side of the field.

"Grovyle, Detect!"

Max could only see glimmers of blue, yellow and green through the storm, but he trusted Grovyle and thought of his moves quickly, not wanting to lose pace. "Keep it up! Leaf Blade!"

"Got him, use Stone Edge!"

"Cancel that Leaf Blade! Use Detect"

"Vyle!" the grass pokemon screeched as its move failed and a massive column of stone slammed into it. The ferocity of the attack threw it off its feet and sent it careening towards the wall. Flying past Max in a green blur, the grass type crashed into the rocky wall with a sickening crack. "Grovyle, no!"

Wearily picking itself off the ground, Grovyle's eyes filled with a fiery determination, it did not want to lose its first gym battle. "Vyle!" it growled, as the gale force winds died down.

"Alright, let's get back in this thing!" Max bellowed, pumping a fist into the air. "Now, use Leaf Blade!" With the field finally clear of the sandstorm, Grovyle wasted no time and bolted towards its target with intense speed. As he neared the rock type, the leaves on his arms burst with a luminous glow.

"Use Rock Blast!" the gym leader finally countered.

Nosepass responded by slamming a massive fist into the ground, causing large chunks of rock to fly upwards around it. Again displaying its strength, the stoney pokemon hurled the slabs at his target.

"Dodge and use Mega Drain!"

Narrowly avoiding the hunks of rock, Grovyle powerfully leapt high into the air and fired a blazing beam of green energy from its mouth.

"Oh, no. Nosepass!" Roxanne, gasped as she watched the Mega Drain connect in an explosion of smoke and green. Knowing her pokemon wasn't done yet, she hastily made her move. "This is our last chance! Nosepass, use Lock On then Zap Cannon!"

Max however, was expecting it. "There's that combination again, Grovyle! Finish this with Agility into Leaf Storm!" he wailed, his voice cracking slightly in excitement.

Nosepass locked onto its target expeditiously, but just as quickly lost it when Agility kicked in. The green lizard seemingly vanished and reappeared behind its opponent. Still facing away, the grass type's tail glowed a furious green as it released an immense amount of razor sharp leaves point blank into Nosepass. The force of the attack trapped and lifted the colossal pokemon high into the air as it was continuously pounded by foliage.

"Wrap this up!" Max yelled out, raising a fist into the air. Still holding the attack, Grovyle nodded its head as he brought his tail down into the ground, slamming the powerless Nosepass into the ground with a hefty impact. Once the dust cleared, the rock type was found supine with swirls in its eyes.

"Nosepass is unable to battle! The winner of this round and this battle is Grovyle and Max Maple!" the referee shouted over the applause and whistling from the crowd.

"Grovyle we did it!" the young navy haired trainer yelled excitedly as he ran to his first pokemon, hand outstretched. The grass starter happily turned to his trainer and give him a crisp high five. "Way to go Max!" a honey blonde squeaked from behind the teen. Serena had come down from the bleachers, a young teal haired girl following close behind her.

"Thanks!" Max responded enthusiastically while glancing behind his travelling companion. "Hey, who's your friend?"

The younger girl shyly emerged from behind the pokemon performer with her eyes down and a mudkip in her arms. "Hey Max, do you remember me?" she asked quietly.

Max eyed the girl curiously for a moment, trying to place her. Standing only a hair shorter than Serena, the young student wore her blue-green hair in braided pigtails that fell neatly on either side of her face. A twinge of familiarity prodded Max as he noticed a pair of red hair clips that kept her bangs in check and away from her timid lavender eyes. She was dressed in a low-cut yellow top with pink trim and a short lavender skirt that matched her eyes. She was definitely cute, and Max was sure that he would recognize her if he knew her. "Sorry," he let out bashfully, "I don't think I do."

Serena took a step back and watched the scene, furrowing her brow. 'This feels awfully familiar,' she thought.

Tightening her embrace of her water type, the girl took a step towards Max and looked as if she was about to say something when she was interrupted. "Great battle, Max!" Roxanne commended, as she strode up to the trio of trainers. "I think you've earned this," she said, presenting a small badge to Max.

His attention sufficiently shifted, Max reached out and took his prize from the gym leader. "Thanks, Roxanne! That battle was so much fun, but I've waited a long time for this," he said, examining the accolade he held in his hand. It had the appearance of two offset, diverging arrows bridged by a diagonal rectangle. 'Just like Ash's," he thought with a wide grin.

"So where are you heading next?" the youthful gym leader asked curiously.

"Serena is actually competing in the pokemon contest tomorrow, so we need to get her registered for that," Max replied, gesturing to the honey blonde.

Roxanne's warm countenance twisted into one of alarm as her gaze found a clock that hung on the gym wall. " Oh, no! You guys need to leave now! There's only fifteen minutes left to register!"

"What?! MAX!" Serena blurted out indignantly. "If we're too late to register, I'm going to set Braixen on you," she huffed, pivoting on her heels to find the closest exit. "Come on, let's go!" The honey blonde took off at a run without waiting for a response. "I'll be right behind you! I just need t-" was all the Kalos queen heard before she bolted around the corner out of earshot.

* * *

A/N: So this was a pretty late update and I feel it's not as good as the rest. Sorry! I spent the better part of last week 1,600 miles from home. It was fun, but exhausting and I didn't really get any time to myself. I hope you guys enjoyed it anyway!

I'm thinking about starting another fic to try and better myself because it still feels like I'm struggling with this one after my break. Don't worry this fic isn't dying, I promise I'll finish it no matter how long it takes! I just think it might be good to have something else to work on if I ever feel a little blocked with this one. There were several times where I sat down to write this chapter and it just didn't feel right, so I actually ended up writing a few scenes for Coordinating With Heart that you'll see MANY chapters from now. (Whoops!) Until next time!


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